What’s Inside an iPad?

Have you ever wondered what it looks like inside an iPad 2? How thick and strong is the glass? Where is the CPU? How big are the batteries? Taking your mom’s iPad apart is NOT a good idea, but you can still see what they look like inside, thanks to these sites and videos.

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1. Where is an iPad made? In China in a huge factory called Foxconn. Thousands of workers and robots work (and live) in a city-sized facility, where they make all sorts of computers — not just iPads. Want to see what it looks like? We found some photos http://bit.ly/q8c4FV

2. How do you take an iPad apart? You can’t. Apple seals the parts with glue. At http://www.ifixit.com/Browse/iPad however, you can find step-by-step instructions on how to open an iPad, using such things as a hair dryer, guitar picks, and special prying tools. If you try such a thing, remember that the iPad is full of dangerous parts and it is very unlikely you’ll get it back together again. It is much easier to look at the photos.

3. Which is faster? a) A Color Nook b) An Amazon Fire c) An iPad 2
At Geek.com http://bit.ly/trsFnr these three tablets are compared. You’ll learn that each has a processor that is the same speed (1 GHz). The Nook and Fire are smaller, lighter and more portable; the iPad is thinner and has the best battery life.

4. What’s the most expensive part in an iPad? At iSupli.com, http://bit.ly/eorsWY you’ll learn that it costs Apple $336 to make an iPad 2. Of that, $127 goes for the touch screen (with special aluminosilicate glass) and $26 is for the 10 hour batteries.

Application

The parts of computers generally fall into three categories: input, storage, and output. Find any unused laptop, get some tools, and take it apart. Stack the parts into three piles. Are there any that don’t belong?